A definition of Job burnout is to "exhaust your physical and mental resources ...to wear out oneself by excessively striving to meet unrealistic expectations" (Brown, 1993).

Are you stressed at work?

Does your day leave you exhausted?

Are you striving to meet unrealistic expectations?

Is job morale low?

Are you feeling increasingly helpless in your current work situation?

Whether these are your expectations or others, these are some common indicators of job burnout.

Stress at Work

You may think that stress goes with the territory as you take on more work and have more deadlines.

While you may think that you are adapting to higher levels of stress, you may just be living with an unhealthy amount of stress.

In a poll of American workers, over 50% of workers said they were less productive due to job stress.

But work stress means more than just loss of productivity. Stress and health are closely connected.

The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports that medical expenditures are 50% higher for those who report high stress at work, compared to those that don't report high work stress.

Effects of job burnout and what you can do

Job burnout affects the individual and the organization.

The individual who suffers burnout is more likely to suffer stress related illnesses and be more susceptible anxiety and depression.

At the organizational level there is likely to be less worker morale, increased absenteeism, more disengagement, and lower productivity.

There are a number of things that the organization and the individual can do to reduce job burnout.

At the organization level, businesses can:

Reduce a culture of overtime. Reduce a culture of overtime and promote a culture of organizational support. Studies show that the more organizational support that employees receive around their work and decisions the less job burnout (Amstrong-Stassen, 2004).

Increase empowerment. Empower people in the decisions that they make in their workplace.

Foster a culture of that promotes balancing work and family time. Research shows that family support and organizational support reduce burnout, and fostering work life balance promotes this support.

Provide positive feedback. Studies show that if supervisors provide feedback that is positive about the abilities and skills of the individuals on their team then there is less burnout (Russell et al., 1987).

One of the stress symptoms is increased muscle tension. Exercise can use-up this accumulated muscle tension.

Eat well. Just as you wouldn't expect your car to run with no fuel, you can't expect your body to work optimally if you don't eat a balanced diet. Get up 5 minutes earlier and make a freshly packed lunch.

Take regular breaks. There is a long history of research that highlights that regular breaks give your body the chance to recuperate and enhances productivity. Get up from the desk and take a walk.

Don't take work home. This can be hard to do when mobiles and technology can mean that we are expected to be available 24/7.

Meaning and purpose. If you job lacks meaning or purpose for you then you are a higher risk of burnout. Furthermore you are spending a great deal of your day doing something in which the values or the work aren't aligned with the type of person you want to be.